Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Scientific Games Corporation were soaring 22.%% Monday afternoon after the company beat second-quarter revenue expectations. Scientific Games, which provides products and services that power lotteries and gambling-related games, reported a net loss of $39.1 million, or a loss of 44 cents per share, compared to a loss of $51.7 million, or 59 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected a loss per share of 41 cents. Revenue was $766.3 million, up from $729.2 million in the year-earlier period and above the FactSet consensus of $748.6 million. Shares of Scientific Games have gained 50% in the past three months and 137% year-to-date, compared with the S&P 500’s gains of 4% and 10% respectively.

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UBS analyst Brennan Hawken on Monday downgraded Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to neutral from buy, noting that investors had priced in an “inflection” point in the bank’s Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities division that might not be forthcoming. “Recent weak results could rebound,” Hawken wrote, but added that 2018 consensus estimates imply a rebound of about 25%. UBS raised its 2017 estimate to account for the Q2 earnings beat, but cut its 2018 estimate to $19.30 per share, below the FactSet consensus of $20.16. “Goldman continues to run a premium franchise but we have limited confidence in predicting when their trading revenues will recover,” Hawken wrote. The stock is down 8.6% for the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.2%. The mean rating among analysts polled by FactSet is overweight.

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The U.S. stock market opened lower on Monday to start a week packed with corporate earnings releases and a midweek meeting of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 0.2% lower at 21,542, the S&P 500 index was off about 0.2% at 2,468. The Nasdaq Composite Index , meanwhile, was trading flat at 6,388. Wall Street investors were paying attention to weakness in the dollar , and conversely strength in the euro . A weaker dollar tends to give a boost to multinational companies selling goods and services abroad, while a strengthening euro can provide a headwind to European companies selling outside of the eurozone. Market participants also watched a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for signs of any further moves to limit a glut of crude oil, which has weighed on futures prices . In corporate news, the market was watching the tumble in Hibbett Sports Inc. , which was on track for its steepest daily stock drop in 18 years after the sports retailer said it expected second-quarter sales to slump. Also, Shares of WebMD Health Corp. soared on news that KKR & Co. was looking to take the health-care information company private. Looking ahead, Google-parent Alphabet Inc. is set to report after the close of trade on Monday. Further out, the Fed kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank not expected to lift interest rates further, but clues about its policy plans and the state of the U.S. economy will be closely tracked in its updated statement. In economic news, the IHS Markit services PMI unchanged at 54.2 in July, while on manufacturing came in at 53.2 in July from 52.0 in the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates economic growth.

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The U.S. stock market opened slightly lower on Monday to start a week packed with corporate earnings releases and a midweek meeting of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading less than 0.1% lower at 21,557, the S&P 500 index was off about 0.1% at 2,470. The Nasdaq Composite Index , meanwhile, was trading flat at 6,390. Wall Street investors were paying attention to weakness in the dollar , and conversely strength in the euro . A weaker dollar tends to give a boost to multinational companies selling goods and services abroad, while a strengthening euro can provide a headwind to European companies selling outside of the eurozone. Market participants also watched a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for signs of any further moves to limit a glut of crude oil, which has weighed on futures prices . In corporate news, the market was watching the tumble in Hibbett Sports Inc. , which was sinking after it said it expected second-quarter sales to slump. Also, Shares of WebMD Health Corp. soared on news that KKR & Co. was looking to take the health-care information company private. Looking ahead, Google-parent Alphabet Inc. is set to report after the close of trade on Monday. Further out, the Fed kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank not expected to lift interest rates further, but clues about its policy plans and the state of the U.S. economy will be closely tracked in its updated statement. In economic news, the IHS Markit flash purchasing managers index, a key business survey, came in at 55.8–lower than the 56.2 analysts had expected, and a six-month low for the index. A reading above 50 indicates economic growth.

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Shares of Caterpillar Inc. climbed 1.2% in premarket trade Monday, after the agriculture and farming equipment maker was upgraded at BMO Capital, citing an improving profit outlook as the cyclical recovery for industrial companies continues. Analyst Joel Tiss raised his rating to outperform after being at market perform for at least the last three years. Tiss said there were three primary reasons for finally turning bullish on Caterpillar: “the unfolding cyclical recovery” and its potential benefits for the company; “the significant cost-cutting program underway” and the “new management team that is expected to concentrate on expanding profitability.” He raised his stock price target to $125, which was 17% above Friday’s closing price of $106.59, from $110. Tiss said he still believes the mining and energy markets still have a difficult road ahead, which suggests it may be unlikely to see a robust demand surge in the near term, “but there are signs we have passed the lows in many areas.” The stock has rallied 14.9% year to date through Friday, while both the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF and S&P 500 has gained 10.5%.

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J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said Monday that it is now accepting Apple Pay at stores nationwide. It’s also making its credit card available on the mobile payment service, so customers can accumulate J.C. Penney Rewards points. In stores, Apple Pay works with multiple versions of the iPhone and with the Apple Watch. J.C. Penney shares are down 1% in premarket trading, and down 39% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 10.4% for 2017 to date.

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Shares of internet radio company Pandora Media Inc. were up 4.5% in premarket trade on Monday after an upbeat analyst note. SunTrust analyst Matthew Thornton sent a note to investors on Monday following a meeting with Pandora interim Chief Executive Naveed Chopra. Thornton’s key takeaways from the meeting were that the subscription model that many analysts feel Pandora was late to isn’t going away, but the company plans to drop investment to maintenance levels. Pandora also plans to increase its focus on monetizing radio, while reallocating subscription investment to sales hires and ad technology. The company also wants to increase focus on cost efficiencies. Thornton said Chopra told him that Pandora’s hours growth could hinge on new content and that more details will be available in the coming quarters. Thornton maintains a buy rating on Pandora and a $10.50 12-month price target, which is about 11% above current trading levels. Pandora shares have declined more than 27% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 10% during the same period.

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Shares of Arconic Inc. , the former aluminum operations of Alcoa before that company split in two, jumped 6% in premarket trade Monday, after the company beat second-quarter profit and sales estimates and raised its guidance. Arconic said it had net income of $212 million, or 43 cents a share, in the second quarter, up from $135 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding special items, EPS came to 32 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 26 cents a share. Revenue rose 1% to $3.3 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $3.2 billion. The company said it is raising its full-year guidance after a “solid” first half, and now expects revenue of $12.3 billion to $12.7 billion, up from prior guidance of $11.8 billion to $12.4 billion. Adjusted EPS is expected to range from $1.15 to $1.20, up from a prior $1.10 to $1.20. The FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of $1.16 and revenue of $12.5 billion.

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Vice Media confirmed last week that it has laid off 2% of its global staff. Variety first reported the news on Friday, saying the youth-focused media company would be laying off about 60 of its 3,000 staffers. The company, which has garnered major investments from and partnerships with Walt Disney Co. , has been in the midst of a global expansion while focusing on its growth in video. The cuts, while not limited to any of Vice’s websites or business areas, did not include jobs in video. Vice says its video content has seen high demand. Other digital media companies have also recently realized the importance of video, most notably MTV, recently making a major shift to video content. Vice expects its overall headcount to expand as it opens offices in India, the Middle East and Latin America. Vice is tracking to be in more than 80 territories by the first quarter of 2018.

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Nektar Therapeutics shares surged as much as 10% in premarket trade Monday after the company announced a $150 million deal with Eli Lilly & Co. to co-develop its immunological therapy NKTR-358. The deal also includes up to $250 million in additional development and regulatory milestone payments. Eli Lilly expects an charge of about 9 cents per share to 2017 earnings, and expects to reduce its reported earnings per share guidance for 2017 by that amount. Nektar plans to complete phase 1 clinical development, after which Eli Lilly will shoulder 75% of the cost of phase 2 development, with Nektar responsible for the remaining 25%. Eli Lilly will pay for all costs of global commercialization. Nektar has the option to participate in late-stage development on an indication-by-indication basis, could receive royalties that increase depending on its phase 3 investment and product sales and will have the option to co-promote the drug in the U.S., the company said. NKTR-358 may address immune system imbalance for many kinds of autoimmune conditions, Nektar said, and the therapy had its first human dose in early-stage clinical development in March. Eli Lilly shares were not active in premarket trade on Monday. Nektar shares have surged 17.9% over the last three months, compared with a 1.5% rise in Eli Lilly shares and a 4.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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